Russia to Red Oak, Montgomery, Iowa

Meng, Wambold, and associated families

My German-Russian ancestors, the Mengs, left the German colonies around
Saratov, Russia and came to Red Oak, Montgomery, Iowa. Two sisters with their
husbands came first, in 1876. A brother came next in 1892, and my ancestor,
John Meng, came in 1893
with his wife and some of their children and grandchildren. My branch
eventually moved west to Portland, Multnomah, Oregon. I've inherited some
research done in the late 1960's by my parents, and have done some myself
since. My parents also interviewed many family members, so some information is
based on what those people remembered personally. This work-in-progress is
posted here in the hopes it will both benefit others and, hopefully, catch the
eye of anyone who might have some details that would fill in our holes, and
prove or disprove the family stories.

In the process of our research, we have gathered some information on
allied families, as well. This will also be posted here, a family group at a
time as I get it entered. We hope that details about our "in-laws" will help us
identify details about our direct ancestors.

I will be posting documents (death certificates, census, photos, etc.)
as I get them sorted out and scanned in. I would very much appreciate anything
anyone out there can add. Please send anything you might have to
LisesMengs@gmail.com. Our goal is to
trace all our direct lines back to their specific Russian village of origin,
then back through the colonies to Germany. We are aware that we need to know
which village they came from in order to do (or hire done) any research in the
old country. We believe this village to be Messer (Ust'-Zolikha).*

*Fall 2008: Thanks to the translation efforts of Prof. Brent Mai, we now
know that Messer IS the correct colony for our Mengs and also our Harts. Copies
of the 1834 Census ($50) and the 1857 Census ($70) can be purchased from
Brent Mai. I have also
found the German villages of origin for both families. Email me with questions.